The Love Itch
by Otoshigo
Summary: [Sequel: Unfinished Business] Marinette is more confused than ever and Adrien seems to have taken to stalking her. All she wants to do is to just get him to stop. Please stop. [Adrienette. Marichat-ish. Still oblivious!Adrien. Still crack.]
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** You thought you felt bad for her _last_ time, ha! This is what you get for asking me to fix it. :D (I suppose this could be a second/third chapter, but the tone and POV's all different and UB is a stand alone... So meh.)

~o~

"Adrien Alert!"

Funny how that phrase used to inspire a burst of excitement in Marinette. How she'd jump to attention like a meerkat, eyes wide and searching before she found that unmistakably handsome face and angelic blond hair. Then she'd swoon with happiness and adoration, floating on a happy high all day.

Now however, the designer cowered and ducked for cover behind Nino and Alya, as the pair of them slid together to form a protective barrier. All smiles, the model jogged down the steps of the College Francoise-Dupont, coming up to his two classmates. "Good morning!" he said brightly. "You haven't seen Marinette, have you?" He teetered on his tiptoes, trying to peek over and around the impenetrable Nino-Alya wall.

"Nope," they both answered quickly, causing the blond to frown.

"Actually, I think she was going to meet Juleka this morning!" Alya lied, pointing a hand towards clear across the other side of the street. "Something about chatting about a project or something. You just... go over there and wait for her, okay?"

Adrien wilted just a little, but nodded and did as the reporter bid.

Once his back was turned, all three quickly hustled into school before Adrien could spot the pig-tailed girl. Once they were safely installed in their classroom, all three collapsed into their seats.

"Guh, he is persistent, isn't he?" Alya noted grudgingly.

"I don't understand! Why is he doing this?!" Marinette cried miserably, letting her head fall against her desk.

It had all started about a month ago, when Adrien gently whispered those soft words into her ear on the steps of their school. _Je t'aime, Marinette._ They had dropped on her like a bomb, leaving her shellshocked and paralyzed, unable to react until the model was long gone.

Afterwards, she began to doubt that it had actually happened. She was just delusional or something, to dream up what she'd always wished Adrien would say. He didn't act any differently with her afterwards, friendly and cheerful as always. Nothing to indicate why he'd say something like _that_ out of the blue.

Then he did it again.

Two days later, he cornered her alone in the locker room. With eyes as warm as molten emerald, he put a hand beside her head on her locker door, leaning in to murmur in her ear, " _Je t'aime, Marinette."_

Which was when Marinette finally realized that it hadn't been a dream, even as she dissolved into a helpless, brainless, blushing puddle of mush. However, when she recovered, the model was once again long gone. Leaving her boneless on the floor, heart jackhammering so hard she was sure that it echoed in the empty room.

The next day, she attempted to gather up the courage to talk to Adrien about it. Feeling as though she were made up of a pile of shivering nerves, she walked unsteadily up to Adrien in the classroom, anxiously wringing her fingers. Her face very nearly overheated from the sheer effort of trying to talk. "U-um, Adrien?" she called uncertainly.

The blond in question looked up to her, bright and friendly as he regarded his classmate. "Oh, hey, Marinette. What's up?"

"Th-that thing that you said yesterday...?" Marinette tried, swallowing hard as her whole body broke out into a cold sweat. "A-and what you said before...?"

Adrien only gave her an innocent, expectant look. "Yes?"

Her mouth bobbed uselessly, like a fish. She just- she _couldn't_ get the words out. The heat to her brain was simply too much and Adrien was _looking_ at her and if this went on any longer, she was actually at risk of fainting. "N-never mind!" she stammered, quickly rushing past him to get to her seat.

Which was when Adrien caught her by the wrist. "Oh, hold up. Before I forget," he said, drawing her attention back to him, back to his hypnotic eyes and that gorgeous face. Smiling, he tugged her down just a little, enough so that he could say so sweetly to her, " _Je t'aime, Marinette."_

With that, he let her go. "Thanks!" he said cheerfully, turning his attention back to the front of the class. Once again, Marinette was reduced to a blushing, overheated zombie, unable to move until Alya came in and tugged her into her seat.

Which was when Marinette realized that it wasn't a dream. It was a _nightmare._

Every day after that, Adrien never failed to track her down, nailing her with those seductive words, then abruptly leaving while she was still recovering. She never failed to dissolve every time he spoke them, not even in the nice floaty swoony way, but more in the unattractive pile of gibbering mush way. It got to be that she became hyper aware of the blond, her body on high alert as she wondered _when_ he was going to accost her. The only break came on weekends, but her body would still tense with panic every time any blond happened to pass by in her field of vision.

If she didn't know any better, she'd call it one of the worst pranks imaginable. However, Adrien was just too sweet, too nice, too _innocent_ to think up something so sadistic. No, it was more like he was getting a fix, like saying those words to _her_ specifically were a daily multivitamin. Or it was an itch that needed scratching.

It got so bad, she started going out of her way to avoid him, just so that she wouldn't have to hear it. It never worked. It seemed like he had this supernatural ability to track her down. Which was when she turned to Alya and Nino for help.

"You know, girl, you _did_ kind of have this coming," Alya remarked, as she kept a lookout on the street corner where Adrien was still waiting for her. "It's not fun getting stalked, is it?"

"Wait, when did-" Nino started, before Marinette quickly cut in:

" _ALYA, DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT!"_ she shrieked, her face bright red with mortification. She still had that chart in her room, although now she was using it as a tool to figure out how to avoid Adrien as much as possible. "Look, he just needs to stop doing this! I can't handle it anymore!"

"Well, avoiding him isn't going to work forever. You two are in the same class!" Alya cried.

"I might get switched to a different class," Marinette said weakly.

" _Months_ from now, if at all!"

"Look, Mari, you're just going to have to woman up and talk to him," Nino said, propping his chin up from the desk. "Alya and I tried, but it all just went straight over his head. If you want him to stop, just explicitly tell him to stop. He's not going to listen to anyone else."

Marinette flushed. "But I don't want to hurt his feelings," she mumbled, wringing her fingers anxiously. "Besides, what if he means it? What if he's trying to wear me down so that he can ask me out?"

"Girl, you do not want Adrien as your boyfriend!" Alya cried in horror as she whirled from the window, "That boy is cray-cray!"

"Yeeeah, I love him to death since he's my buddy n' all, but he's not 100% stable," Nino agreed.

Marinette was about to defend the blond's honor, when she suddenly heard: "Marinette! There you are!" The designer froze up, her eyes craning over to the doorway where Adrien stood with both hands on the frame, grinning brightly. Confidently, he strode up to the her, intent on once again reducing her into a pile of mush. Taking her by the hands, his eyes seemed alight with joy as he opened his mouth to speak.

Which is when Marinette suddenly felt two heavy headphones snap over her ears, blasting music so loud that it cancelled out all other sound.

Adrien balked, his face the very picture of perplexity as he looked up to the culprit. Nino kept his hands planted around the headphones, daring him to argue. Marinette sighed in happy, blissful relief as the pair of them began to quarrel. Nino had really good taste in music, she decided, as she watched Adrien petulantly go to his seat when the class bell rang.

Nino let her have the headphones all day and she made good use of them. Every break they had, every opportunity to speak, she'd pull the headphones up and watch as Adrien grew poutier and poutier as he was summarily cut off. This was perfect! All the benefits of having him close without the humiliating side-effects!

Before she knew it, she managed to get through the entire school day without having heard the cursed words from Adrien _once._ He gave one valiant try at the very end, but his bodyguard whisked him away to some shoot he had after class.

"Thanks so much, Nino!" she beamed as she handed the headphones back to him. Her ears ached, but it was a small price to pay for getting through the day in one piece. "Do you think I can borrow those tomorrow too?"

Nino frowned at her, he and Alya exchanging a look. "You know this isn't a permanent solution, right?" he asked warily.

"Well, sure. But maybe if I do it long enough, he'll get the idea and back off," Marinette said with a smile.

"Mari, girl, that boy is as dense as a brick!" her bestie cried in exasperation. "You just have to tell him no!"

" _Lalala~_ can't hear you!" the designer cried, inspired by her new solution, plugging up her ears as she headed home across the street. All evening, she hummed happily to herself in her good mood, finally seeing an end in sight. When she went to bed that night, she put back up all her pictures of Adrien over her computer. She could continue to gaze at her handsome prince all she wanted without getting burned in the process. At least until she built up some kind of immunity to him. Everything was going to turn out alright.

Which was when she heard the knocks.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

Marinette froze, looking upwards to the hatch above her bed. No. No _way._ There was no way that Adrien was up there. Even so, she felt her body primed on high alert. She stopped breathing, waiting to see if the presence would leave.

"Prrincess? You there?" a familiar voice called.

All at once, Marinette folded over with relief. Oh, it was just Chat Noir. She could deal with _that_ boy. Though she was curious what he wanted so late at night. "I'm here!" she called out, climbing up to the loft and opening up the hatch to her balcony.

As expected, she found Chat Noir kneeling by the hatch, a broad smile spread across his features. "Good evening, Prrincess," he purred, taking her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles. "Paw-don the intrusion, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Feeling toyed around with for nearly a month, she was quite happy to turn it around on someone else. Playing the fangirl, Marinette squealed and waved a hand, "Oh Chat Noir! I can't believe I have a hero come to visit me on my balcony!" She giggled as the black cat preened under the attention. "Whatever are you doing here? I'm not in any danger am I?" she gasped, batting anxious baby doll eyes on Chat Noir.

"No, no! Nothing of the sort!" Chat replied quickly, waving his clawed hands to dismiss the idea. "I apawlogize if this comes as a shock. I didn't mean to frighten you. I just had something I needed to tell you."

"Oh? What's that?" Marinette smiled, propping her chin up off the edge of her hatch.

With a broad grin, Chat leaned in and purred, " _Je t'aime, Marinette."_

At once, Marinette's smile dropped, her eyes going wide. "W-what?" she whispered as a shiver ran up her spine. Unlike with Adrien, she didn't dissolve into a puddle of goo, but her whole body had been trained to have a visceral reaction to the words. She went cold, then very hot. "What did you say?!" she demanded, grabbing a startled Chat by his gold bell. "Who told you to say that?!"

"N-no one! No one!" the cat-boy yowled as she shook him, his eyes wide with shock. Of course, he probably wasn't expecting his swooning fangirl to flip out like this. "I swear! No one put me up to this!"

Her lips curling into a snarl, Marinette let him go, her bluebell eyes blazing. Fist clenched at her side, she threw a finger towards the Seine. "Just- Get out of here, cat!" Confused and alarmed, Chat did as he was bid. With a lunge and a jump, he was far from sight, vaulting across the rooftops of Paris. Panting, Marinette was left alone with her furious thoughts.

The next evening, she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

It was all Ladybug could do not to outright strangle the cat when they met up for patrol. As it was, her smile was rather twitchy when Chat Noir lept onto the rooftop beside her. The cat didn't act any different when he approached with his usual swagger, taking a bow as he came near. "Milady, I hope you're feline fine tonight?" he smiled, taking her hand in his.

Ladybug plucked it away before he could kiss it. "Just fine, kitty," she replied, hopping off the motif she'd been resting on. Hands behind her back, she eyed her kitten suspiciously. "Chat Noir, you love me, don't you?"

"But of course, milady!" Chat Noir cried, as if it was absurd she would imply otherwise. "You're the sun to my moon, the sky to my stars! The pizza to my pie-"

Ladybug pressed a finger to his lips before he could go on. "Oh really?" she said, her tone too light not to be dangerous. "So what's this about you declaring your love to certain bakers' daughters on their balconies?"

All the blood drained from Chat's face. His mouth twitched into a nervous half-smile. "W-wow, milady. Absolutely _nothing_ gets past you, does it?" It didn't exactly sound like a compliment phrased quite like that.

Ladybug narrowed her eyes. "So? What is it, Chat Noir? Do you love me or do you love Marinette?"

"You, of course!" her partner declared quickly. Perhaps _too_ quickly.

"So then why did you tell Marinette otherwise!"

Chat's throat bobbed, not quite sure how to answer. "Ummmm..." he replied weakly, his eyes wide.

That was when Ladybug officially lost her patience. Her partner was a shameless tomcat. She knew this already. "You know what? Never mind," she growled, rubbing her temple as a headache began to throb. "Let's just go on patrol, Chat. You take north and I'll take south. I don't want to see you the rest of the night."

With that, she took off, leaving a speechless cat in her wake.

~o~

The next day, Adrien made a point of studying the tiny initials engraved on top of his desk. There were _other_ thoughts he could be thinking. But they were dangerous and unwelcome thoughts, so he'd much rather just focus on wondering who BP could be. Bridgette Paget? Berenice Poirot? Bodin Pascal? Maybe he could look at old yearbooks to figure it out. That might be fun.

The door opened and he looked up to see his triad of friends enter the room. His heart thumped with a familiar _je t'aime, je t'aime_ when he saw Marinette, compelling him to unburden himself. However, he faltered when he saw the headphones around her ears.

What? _Why?!_

She couldn't like music _that_ much. That was Nino's thing! However, even as he pouted, he had the sinking feeling that he wasn't going to be able to talk to her all day. Well, he _could._ She just wouldn't be able to hear it, which negated the entire effort.

Marinette glanced to him, giving him a wide smile and a wave as she took her seat.

Well. _Fine._ Fine, then. He'd just have to go visit her as Chat Noir again. Even though it did clearly upset his Lady. Apparently, she had some sort of preternatural ability to sense all things romantic.

...Wait, wait, _wait._ What was he thinking? This wasn't romantic at all! It was just- a _thing._ Right, an unnameable thing that compelled him to expel those words every once in awhile. An itch that needed scratching. It was for his mental health!

Even so, he was going to have to be careful this time...

That night, he went to her as Chat Noir. Only this time, he didn't knock. Instead, he waited until the lights flickered out and even longer still to make sure that Marinette was asleep. He wasn't sure that saying the words in her sleep would work, but he didn't have much choice at this point. When he deemed it safe, he went to her hatch and used a claw to undo the lock. Then he ever so carefully slipped inside, making sure not to touch the bed quite yet. He didn't want to rock her awake. It took some doing, but he managed to slip down beside her bedside.

Smiling smugly at his smooth skills, he gently leaned over Marinette's sleeping form. _Je t'aime, je t'aime,_ his heart pounded, tightening his throat as he took in her beautiful, peaceful face. Beautiful. Yes, she was. So, so...

...Was that his face?

Chat froze, inches over Marinette as his eyes caught onto the pictures taped all over her wall. All of Adrien Agreste. His eyes widened, a shiver running over his skin as though a cold draft had passed through him. Why... why did she have _his_ face plastered all over her walls? Why would-

That was when the frying pan of Truth struck.

Marinette liked him. Liked Adrien. She hadn't been lying to Nathanaël. She'd lied to _him._

Chat reeled back, falling onto his haunches as he scrabbled away from the bed. His heart thundered, an all too familiar heat spreading throughout his entire body. A blush blossomed over the cat's entire face, until even his kitten ears were red and toasting.

He just spent the last month telling a girl who loved him that he loved her!

His face contorted into a silent scream when he realized what he'd done, both paws clasped over his face to keep from making a peep. Suddenly the words were back with a vengeance, thundering so loudly in his mind that he feared that Marinette would hear them.

 _Je t'aime, Marinette. Je t'aime, Marinette. Je t'aime, Marinette._

Unable to take it, Chat jumped up out of the hatch, using the bed as leverage and letting the door slam shut behind him.

The combination woke Marinette up, who bolted up with a "Whazzat!" She blinked blearily around the empty room, never noticing the unlocked latch on her hatchdoor. "Guh, hate kicking myself awake," she grumbled, curling back into bed and dozing off.


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette cautiously entered class the next day with the music turned off on Nino's headphones. She hoped that the simple presence of them would be a deterrent. Blasting music in her ears all day was becoming even less of a permanent solution than she expected, when her ears rang for hours yesterday. She spotted Adrien in the front row, as ever her whole body tingling at the sight of him in dread and anticipation.

His green eyes flicked up to her. They widened to a comical size, a bright blush spreading over his comely cheeks. Without a word, he dropped underneath his desk out of sight. After a couple seconds of waiting, Marinette realized that he wasn't going to surface.

...Wait, what.

Why was _she_ being avoided now?!

Feeling more than a little indignant, Marinette rounded around the desk and peered underneath. She found the model huddled underneath the desk. Not really cowering but... Okay, scratch that, he was cowering. "ADRI-" she started, before she took off the headphones. "Adrien, what are you doing?"

"Wha- me?" the blond replied with a strained smile, gesticulating wildly. "I-I'm not doing anything! Suspicious. At all. This is TOTALLY normal behavior."

"Oookay?" Marinette frowned. Well, this was far more preferable to him ambushing her with declarations of love, so she wasn't going to question it. "Well, h-have fun," she said, taking her seat behind him.

Adrien quickly realized that she had a perfect view of his hiding place in her seat, so he sheepishly climbed out of his spot and sat down properly. However, he radiated heat, his neck and his ears still practically glowing.

Marinette narrowed her eyes. This was _definitely_ suspicious.

Adrien didn't try to talk to her all day. In fact, he avoided looking at her whenever possible. When they were paired up in physics, both of them were so hopelessly awkward and uncomfortable they didn't share more than ten words between them. Nino and Alya didn't have any more idea what to make of it than Marinette did.

"I'll talk to him," Nino told them heroically before lunch.

He came back from lunch. "He ain't talking."

It was starting to get to the point that Marinette kind of wished that Adrien would ambush her with another ' _Je t'aime'_. At least that was normal(ish). This? She had _no idea_ what this was. It was _upsetting._ It wasn't fair that one boy should have so much control over her emotions with the changing of his moods.

As the day ended, Marinette came out of it confused and frustrated. Defeated, she hung her head as she watched Adrien be ushered into his car by his bodyguard. Not a single ' _Je t'aime'_ all day. She didn't think she'd miss it. Oh well. Perhaps he'd be feeling better tomorrow. Then things could go back to normal.

~o~

The days passed as Adrien did his utmost to contain himself. The knowledge and the responsibility that he was Marinette's crush were almost too much to bear. He could hardly look at her, not without wondering (hoping) what she was thinking. The addiction that he'd been feeding so carelessly for over a month was coming back with a vengeance, so much worse now with his forbidden knowledge. Yet he couldn't _say_ it. Not when he knew. Not with how Marinette felt. It was eating away at him, at his self-control, until all he could think of was how he _needed_ to say those words to her and damned be the consequences.

 _Je t'aime, Marinette. Je t'aime, je t'aime, je t'aime~_

Why couldn't it just stop?! Hot and cold shivers ran all up and down his body, making him claw at his scalp in desperation, the _need_ threatening to burst from him in the most unpleasant way possible if he didn't release it somehow. It wasn't enough that some random someone had to say it to Marinette anymore. It was him. It was _all_ him. He was the accursed boy that held her heart, unintentionally or not.

After a week, he just couldn't take it anymore. If he didn't say something he was going to explode.

He couldn't go to her as Adrien though. That would be too unfair. Chat Noir it was. She wouldn't care if Chat Noir was declaring he loved her. He just hoped that Ladybug understood.

He took to Marinette's balcony once more, his heart pounding _je t'aime, je t'aime_ as he knocked on the hatch door. His tail flicked anxiously, his whole body primed and threatening to burst. As soon as the door cracked open but an inch, Chat pounced.

The pig-tailed girl let out a small shriek as an armful of cat-boy launched itself at her, pinning her into bed. "Chat, what-?!" she cried when she was suddenly straddled against her mattress.

" _Marinette, je t'aime!"_ Chat cried, his entire face flushed and flustered, as his hands grasped her shoulders. " _Je t'aime! Je t'aime! Je t'aime! Je t'aime!"_

Marinette stared at him, as he panted for breath. "Um... are you done?" she asked uncertainly.

"I think..." Chat pondered, pressing a knuckle to his lower lip. "No wait... _Je t'aime, Marinette."_ He let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, now I'm done."

"Oookay, then..." Marinette said, sliding herself out from under the superhero as best as she could. "Um..." She worried her lower lip, giving him a dubious look. "Chat Noir? Is everything okay? You're... um... I mean..." She was being awfully polite about his impromptu home invasion. "You seem like you need to get something off your chest..."

Well, he just did. That was the point.

"I think there's something wrong with me," Chat admitted miserably, rolling off her and onto his back as he looked at his sweet classmate.

"Oh Chat, why? Because you're declaring your love for me instead of your lady love?" the pig-tailed girl replied in what could only be a teasing tone. Her lips quirked up in amusement. A chill went through Chat as though Marinette could see right through him. "Are you practicing on me for Ladybug?"

That couldn't be further from the truth. However, it was a far more plausible explanation for his sudden appearance, so he simply nodded.

Marinette smiled, making his skin prickle and overheat underneath his suit _(je t'aime, je t'aime)_. "That's actually really cute, Chat Noir," she said, chiming the little bell on his collar. (That shouldn't have sent a shudder through him, but it _did.)_ "I think you might need to work on it though. You're coming off a little needy."

Worrying his lower lip, Chat looked up at her with the most kittenish eyes he could manage. "C-could I keep practicing on you?" he asked shyly.

"Well~" Marinette mused, looking upwards to her left. "I suppose there's no harm in it. If you can make me blush, you're probably on the right track."

A wide, excited smile spread across Chat features. "Ah Prrincess, you are a godsend!" he declared, taking her hand to press a chaste kiss to her knuckles. "I will happily take you up on your offer. Tomorrow then? Tomorrow. Oh, and just one for the road," he purred, cupping her sweet face with his palm. " _Je t'aime, Marinette."_

With that he took off, feeling unburdened for the first time in over a week. This was perfect! He could say those cursed words to her any time he wanted and there would be no consequences! No hurt feelings!

He couldn't believe his luck!

~o~

He couldn't believe how _stupid_ he was.

Adrien stared at the blackboard, his expression haggard. Speaking the words to Marinette as Chat Noir was _not_ helping. Oh, he'd thought so for the first couples weeks or so. Just pop in, say the words, scratch the itch, then take off. No harm done. No feelings hurt.

But for some reason, the past few days had been leaving him thoroughly... _unsatisfied._

He remembered it clearly the first time it happened.

He went to her as he always did, usually at night after his extracurriculars were all finished and done. Marinette sat on top of her balcony, various books out as she did her homework for school. He landed lightly, trying to catch her off guard, but she always managed to sense him.

"Caught you," she said, not even looking up from her book.

"One day," he promised, coming up to kneel at her side. The urge was particularly strong for some reason tonight, pushing aside their usual banter to get right into it. He had to get this out. He needed the relief. Looking up at her beautiful face, he felt everything tightening up, his nerves, his throat, his shoulders. His heart especially, drumming with the words that had by now completely replaced his normal heartbeat. " _Je t'aime, Marinette,"_ he spoke, looking up at that lovely face.

She didn't even look at him. Her lips curled into a teasing smile. "8.2/10. Not bad."

He frowned at the way his heart suddenly tightened even more. The ache wasn't going away. He took her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. " _Je t'aime, Marinette,"_ he murmured, willing her gaze to meet his.

Her bluebell eyes slid over to him, suddenly ensnaring him like they never had. He only felt _hotter._ "7.5 now. I couldn't hear you that well."

Confused and alarmed, he suddenly straddled her on her chair, hands pinning her slender shoulders against the seat. " _Je t'aime, Marinette. Je t'aime, je t'aime, je t'aime!"_

Marinette just laughed, the light sound bubbling with amusement as she pushed him off. "Chat, no! Now you're just regressing! You can't come onto her like that!"

But he didn't _want_ to come onto Ladybug. At least not like _that._ This was for Marinette alone. This was all about Marinette. He was supposed to relieve the pressure inside him, building up in the hours that they spent apart. He knew not why, but the words _had_ to be said. He had to get them out of his head to clear it! That was the entire purpose of this exercise!

Only it wasn't happening. The words were still ringing in his ears. He looked up helplessly at Marinette, who didn't _notice_ that things had gone awry. She was already concentrating back on her books.

 _Je t'aime, Marinette. Je t'aime, Marinette. Je t'aime. Je t'aime._

That was when Adrien realized that something was wrong.

The yearning he felt didn't relent with the simple incantation of the words anymore. It didn't matter how many times he said them in succession. Whether or not he said them jokingly or seductively or casually. It wasn't the telling of the words anymore. It was Marinette's reaction to them. He wanted her to blush. He wanted her to gasp. He wanted her to squirm.

 _Je t'aime, Marinette. Je t'aime, Marinette._

It wasn't going to happen as Chat Noir.

It _couldn't_ happen as Adrien.

He'd somehow made this a thousand times worse. He was digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole that he already couldn't get out of. _Why_ had he snuck into her room?! If only he hadn't been trespassing, he wouldn't have seen the pictures and he wouldn't be dealing with trying to safekeep Marinette's heart. It was an unfair, unchivalrous thought. Since Marinette would still have a crush on him, whether or not he knew about it.

It meant he was in a very special kind of hell. As Chat Noir, all she would do was smile or laugh each time he 'practiced' on her, making his shoulders tense and his heart wring as though he'd never even said the words at all. His hands would itch at his sides, compelling him to do something, but he didn't know _what_ or _why._ He just wanted her _affected._ It was _agony._

Ladybug might know what to do. She would probably be furious after last time, but...

"Hey, is that Chat Noir?" he heard Alya's voice behind him.

Adrien tensed, perking up without trying to look interested.

"Yup," Marinette said lightly, soon followed by the slide of paper against wood. "Just felt like sketching him."

Alya laughed. "What's with his gooey expression? Don't tell me that you have a crush on him now!"

Adrien froze.

However, the designer only laughed. "No way! He's such a dorkasaurus. Besides, I'm sure he's thinking about Ladybug."

Dorkasaurus? _Him?_ Gooey? _Him?!_

That distinct feeling of dissatisfaction was back, making him bristle. Like stroking a cat in the wrong direction. What on earth did Marinette draw him as? "Can I see?" he asked suddenly, startling both the girls as he turned around. Alya frowned at him in suspicion, although she wasn't as openly hostile as she was when he was relieving his urges with Marinette as Adrien. For her part, Marinette blushed brightly and nodded, passing the sketchpad over.

As Adrien looked it over, he sucked in a sharp breath. Her so-called sketch was beautifully drawn and exquisitely detailed. It was just his head and shoulders, shaded by moonlight. Chat looked up at him over his shoulder, eyes soft and adoring underneath the wild fringe of hair. His lips tugged into a small, warm smile.

A wash of cold went through Adrien, as he felt his entire world fall off kilter. He recognized that smile.

It was his father's smile from years ago, one he'd give his mother when he didn't think anyone was looking.

It was his mother's smile, after she'd scoff at his father for being so exasperating or when she teased him.

It was the smile his father still gave his mother's portrait, those rare times Adrien caught him reminiscing.

That smile, his parents' smile, could only mean one thing.

Chat Noir was in love.

The second frying pan of Truth had struck.

~o~

Ladybug was feeling more than a little frustrated nowadays. The two boys in her life had everything to do with it. Chat had outright disappeared on her (well, as Marinette), keeping her up waiting for him for _three nights_ in a row. Absolutely no warning whatsoever! It was infuriating and inconsiderate.

However, his antics had absolutely _nothing_ on Adrien Agreste. After a whole month of stalking her and ambushing her with love declarations, he went completely cold on her, avoiding her like the plague. Then just when things were starting to get lukewarm (ie before all the je t'aimes), he suddenly spazzed again! Instead of simply not talking to her, he didn't even want to _look_ at her, using various things such as his tablet, his bag, and even Nino once, to avoid setting his sights on her.

She was starting to think Alya was right about him not being right in the head.

Then she heard the padded footfalls behind her. "Good evening, Chaton," she called out, looking over her shoulder. The black clad cat-boy stood from his crouched landing position, clasping his hands together behind his head.

"Good evening, milady," Chat purred, sauntering up over to stand beside her before he knelt to kiss her hand. "It is too bad we have to meet like this. You must have missed me _terribly."_

"You wish," Ladybug said with a bark of laughter. Well, at least Ladybug and Chat Noir were still on normal terms. "So, you ready for patrol?"

"Actually, milady, I wondered if I could have a word," Chat replied his tone suddenly serious as he continued to kneel.

Welp, she spoke too soon. She should have seen this coming with the way he'd been practicing like a fiend. Maybe that's why he ghosted on Marinette. He was psyching himself up for the real deal.

Ladybug swallowed, guilt balling at the pit of her stomach. She was going to have to figure out how to let him down easy. "What is it, Chat?"

Standing up, the black cat took both of her hands in his. "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while," he spoke softly, his fingers tightening. He looked up at her, his eyes set with determination. It was unexpected. Not the eyes of one who was about to declare their love. He took a breath. "Ladybug, _je_..." he struggled, his face growing tense. His shoulders began to tremble. " _Je..."_

The superheroine leaned in, willing him to finish. She'd never seen him so nervous. Part of her couldn't help but root for him.

" _Je... je... J'aime quelqu'un d'autre!"_ he suddenly cried, before sucking in a desperate gasp for breath.

Ladybug stared. "...What?"

"I'm so sorry!" Chat cried, his face flushed and guilty as he ducked his head. "I never expected this to happen! I promise I won't let this affect our partnership. I'm sorry for any heartbreak I may have caused!" With that said, he tore off, vaulting away off from the rooftop and into the night.

Ladybug stared after him, her lip curled and twitching. Well, that was _fine._ She was never in love with that ridiculous cat in the first place! (And of course, he assumed that she _was._ Ugh.) However, she had a far more pressing concern at the moment.

"CHAT! WHAT ABOUT _PATROL?!"_

~o~

Adrien thought he was going to be sick.

He took back absolutely everything he'd said to Nino and Nathanaël. ' _Just be yourself'_ ha! What kind of crock was that?! That didn't help when you felt like you wanted to curl up and rock yourself from sheer anxiety. Or if it felt like your own body had it in for you, making you nauseous and sweaty even as you shivered, your heart pound against your ribs, your ears ring, and your blood heat while your skin went clammy.

This was _with_ homefield advantage. At least he knew that Marinette had at one point had tender feelings for him. He couldn't even imagine what it was like for the ones who didn't know if their love could be requited or not.

As it was, he wasn't completely sure where he currently stood with Marinette either. He hadn't expected this to happen. If he did, he would have done everything differently. Now he just prayed that he hadn't royally screwed this up for good.

Trying to instill a little Chat Noir confidence into himself, the blond squared his shoulders and headed up the steps to school. He found Marinette hanging out with Rose and Juleka on one of the benches in the school courtyard.

 _Je t'aime, Marinette. Je t'aime, Marinette._

 _Yeah, I know already, shut up!_ Adrien scolded his thoughts, his cheeks turning warm despite himself. Shaking the tremble out of his hands, he clasped them behind his back as he approached. "Hi everyone," he called out, catching their attention. The girls looked up to him, Marinette starting like a frightened rabbit. He supposed he deserved it. "Marinette, do you think I could have a word? In private?"

That frightened prey expression only grew, as she whirled around to look around the courtyard.

"Or... not...?" he frowned, as she made no indication of moving.

Okay, he could do this with an audience. That was fine. J-just fine.

Gathering his courage, he knelt down in front of Marinette, taking her hand in his. Rose gasped excitedly beside her, sparkles in her eyes. Juleka's own eyes widened. Marinette looked like she was about to faint.

"Marinette," Adrien spoke, his voice soft and earnest, "I'm sorry for being so all over the place. It was probably very confusing. I-I was confused too, to be honest, so it probably wasn't very helpful." He watched her eyes widen, taking on a trace of hope. His lips quirked into a smile at the encouraging sign, warmth spreading all through his chest. "But, I had a very long time to think about what I really wanted. I think I finally got it now."

His fingers squeezed around hers, eyes warm with adoration. "So I wanted to tell you. Officially and for real." Adrien took a breath, about to speak: " _Marinette, je-"_

Suddenly, a hand slapped over Adrien's nose and mouth, turning his next words into a muffled garble. He fell ingloriously onto his ass, arms flailing as he tried to pry himself out of Nino's ninja attack.

"OH NO, YOU DON'T!" his so-called best friend cried, keeping him pinned against the ground. "You're not going to start this all over again!"

"Nino, you ruined it!" Rose shrieked, just as Alya called from behind her boyfriend, "Mari, run!"

Marinette stared at the whole debacle in shock, her jaw dropped. Then her mouth scrunched tightly together. Then she giggled. Both hands clasped over her mouth. A cute snort escaped her. Finally, she burst into raucous peals of laughter.

Everyone stopped what they were doing as the designer keeled over on the bench, snorting and laughing hysterically as she clung onto Juleka for support. She laughed so hard, her entire face was cherry red and tears streamed from her eyes.

"I think you broke her," the goth observed, gently patting Marinette on the shoulder.

"I'm okay!" Marinette wheezed, not sounding okay in the least with how out of breath she was. She waved an arm, trying to make some signal that no one could understand. She let out a few more chortles, before she finally managed to get a hold of herself. " _Phew,_ I'm okay," she grinned, her face still flushed a pretty pink. "Nino, Alya, it's okay. You can let him go."

Warily, Nino did so, allowing the blond to scrabble out of his grasp. But not before punching the DJ in the arm. Hard. "Hey, _ow!"_ Nino cried, holding onto his shoulder.

Alya cocked an eyebrow at her friend. "Mari, are you sure?"

"Positive!" Marinette beamed, before she directed that beautiful smile in the model's direction. "Adrien was just about to ask me out. Isn't that right, Adrien?"

His face heated, even as he wondered just _how_ she had lost her stutter. Maybe it went right out the window along with his dignity. Adrien quickly nodded, coming up to stand in front of Marinette. He pulled her to her feet, taking both her hands in his. "Yes. Yes, exactly. And Marinette, I wanted to tell you-"

"No."

Adrien blinked. "...No?" he echoed uncertainly.

"Nope," Marinette reiterated, popping the 'p'. "I think I've heard enough of _that_ for a long while. So for the foreseeable future, you don't have permission to tell me that."

Adrien gaped at her, even as he felt tremors in his pocket as Plagg started to crack up. "Permi- For how long?!" he demanded.

"Until you prove that you actually mean them," his newly minted girlfriend replied with a sly smile. "Actions speak louder than words after all. So maybe in a month, or two. We'll see."

A month? _Two?!_

Then Marinette tiptoed up and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek that just about obliterated all thought. She blushed as she fell back onto her heels, a happiness spread over her features that made his breath catch. "We'll talk later?" she asked with a shy smile.

"Yes, of course!" Adrien replied quickly. He waved as the whole cohort of girls made an abrupt exit en masse. Seconds later he heard squeals and shrills from their direction.

Nino put a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, dude. I didn't realize that you were asking her out for real," he said, giving him a contrite look. "We still cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool," the model grinned in reply as they fist-bumped. "Anyway, you go on ahead with the girls. I need a minute to think."

Nino gave him a dubious look, as if suggesting the last thing the blond ought to be doing was _thinking._ However, he nodded and headed off to find his girlfriend (and interrupt the girl-talk).

 _Je t'aime, Marinette._

 _Je t'aime, Marinette._

 _Je t'aime, Marinette._

 _I know, I know,_ Adrien thought, his expression darkening as the impulse pulled at him. How was he supposed to last two _weeks_ like this, let alone two months? Especially _now_ when he should rightly be able to tell her the words all he wanted. However, he was going to have to figure out how to restrain himself if he wanted this thing to last. Adrien Agreste was in this for the long haul.

A smirk spread across his lips, his green eyes taking on a wicked gleam.

Good thing Chat Noir wasn't under such restrictions.


End file.
